


Dead or Lie

by NeutralSymmetry



Category: Danganronpa, Hermitcraft RPF, Minecraft (Video Game)
Genre: Betrayal, Death, Drowning, Gen, Murder, Non-Consensual Drug Use, Non-Minecraft AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-04
Updated: 2019-11-04
Packaged: 2021-01-22 18:03:33
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,696
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21306284
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NeutralSymmetry/pseuds/NeutralSymmetry
Summary: It spoke one single sentence.  A sentence that Grian could have never imagined to ever hear.  A sentence so vile, with so much weight that he couldn’t even begin to fathom what he had done to end up in this situation.“Welcome, Hermits, to the sixth annual killing game.”-A Hermitcraft Danganronpa AU
Comments: 2
Kudos: 47





	Dead or Lie

**Author's Note:**

> This work is not appropriate for those who are sensitive to graphic depictions of violence, death, gore, or mentions of sexual assault. Please read carefully. Chapters will be tagged with all potential triggers.
> 
> Anyway, thank you for taking the time to read my lil' Danganronpa Hermitcraft AU! I promise to bring you the upmost of thrills, chills, and kills!
> 
> Follow me on Twitter for updates, fanart, and all my other shenanigans! https://twitter.com/HermitsnCraftin
> 
> I will try to accompany each chapter with some kind of art, either in the beginning, middle, or end- Have fun!

** **

**** **7:33 AM**

**???**

**???**

Waking up in the dark isn’t exactly a foreign concept- but to wake up, and have the overwhelming dread of your surroundings narrowing in is.

Grian’s eyes snapped open with a sense of urgency, becoming all so suddenly aware of the stiff air filling his lungs- humid, his breath becoming tight, and stifled. With reckless abandon, his hands flew out to the side, searching his unknown surroundings, his hands making contact with cold steel.

He was in a tall, thin, box, he was for certain- why, or where the box was located, though, he could not be. In an attempt to steady himself, he took a deep breath, arms and torso shaking from the feeling of the lack of air. He was trapped, oxygen was low- he had no idea how long he had stayed inside the box, and if he had it his way, he wouldn’t be spending more time in it.

This time, with more calculation, Grian rammed himself against the side of the box- it’s cold steel pressed against his shoulder, giving way to bright, white, sterile lights. The door swung open, thrown aside, allowing Grian the escape he so desperately needed- and a one way ticket to the cold, white, glossy floors below.

Grian hesitated for a few moments, before freezing his nerves as he made his way off the ground to look around- he was in a large, bright white room with sterile, what he could only imagine as being LED, lights. The room was a box, barren all sides except for a high opening stretching toward the ceiling, and three sets of metal lockers, one being the one Grian threw himself out of.

The young Brit began to softly hum to himself, a nervous habit of sorts, all in the name of calming his ever rising nerves. With one question answered, a whole bunch more came. His eyes fixated down the corridor, and it stretched as far as he could see. He let out a scream as he heard a loud bang from one of the other lockers.

He wasn’t alone. But what he wasn’t alone with, he had no idea. Was there another person left with him here? Were they in the same situation as he was, or were they the reason why he was here in the first place? Grian wasn’t sure, but the answer would either help him figure out the situation, or raise more questions.

A short, bated breath left the blonde as he reached and quickly opened the locker door. His eyes widened in surprise as he made out the silhouette of a man who stumbled out of the locker- tall, much taller than him, almost a quarter of his height taller. He lost his footing as he made his way to move out, and nearly crashed into Grian, who had barely made the move to step out of the way.

“Jeez”, Grian muttered, wiping off his red sweater. “There’s a better way than that to make an entrance, mate.”

The man who was still on the ground looked up at the Brit with a mixture of embarrassment and humor- he found what Grian had said funny, but if it was out of nervousness, he wasn’t sure. 

The lanky figure stood to his full height, a full head and a half above Grian- a full foot if he had to guess!- and dusted the dirt off his nice, white dress shirt, adorned with a red tie, and black suit jacket. He was dressed up dapperly, quite proper, and it didn’t fit Grian’s own attire at _ all _.

“I-I’m so sorry, I was trying to get out whenever you opened the door. I think it was stuck,” he stammered in a timid manner. _ So he was laughing out of nervousness _, Grian thought.

Grian’s chiding look disappeared as he realized that the man in front of him was also in a strange situation, with no idea where he was. There was no familiarity, or malice in those dark brown, almost red eyes of his.

He took the moment to look over the other and take in the features other than height- he had a medium-to-light complexion, with what Grian could only describe as dark red eyes, and a huge, thick, burly black mustache. He had never seen one so big, but it only seemed to add an air of silliness to the man in front of him. He was dressed like he was from the 1920s! And from what Grian could gather, he could be for all he knew!

“Hey, I’m not really mad, you know. It seems like we’re both in the same situation. I don’t suppose you remember how you got here?”

The tall man brought his finger to below his lip as he began to think- he looked like he couldn’t recall, either.“The last thing I remember is being invited to a new settlement. As soon as I accepted the warp invite, I fell asleep and...woke here.”

“You too?” Grian said, glad that his suspicion was confirmed. He wouldn’t have known what to do if he found out this was his captor. He probably could fight the guy, but his height would’ve been a huge advantage. Grian would have just gone for the kneecaps, then. “It’s alright, though, we’ll figure this out together!”

“I appreciate your confidence.”

“Oh, I almost forgot- I’m Grian. I have a similar origin story to getting here as you do.” 

Despite the situation, and despite his confusion, the other smiled, and despite being a stranger, it put a smile on Grian’s face too.

“I’m Mumbo Jumbo- you can just call me Mumbo, though.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet your acquaintance, Mumbo Jumbi-bumb.” Grian grinned from ear to ear and extended his hand to the stranger to shake. Even though they were in such a dangerous situation, that didn’t mean Grian couldn’t try to lighten the mood at least a little.

Mumbo hid part of his face with his hand and laughed a deep laugh- he thought Grian was funny! In the middle of his laugh, he stretched his arm out and took Grian’s to shake. His grasp was firm, just as Grian expected it to be- Mumbo seemed like a true gentleman, if his suit and mannerisms had anything to say about it.

“Looks like I have my work cut out for me,” Mumbo said in between laughs. Grian stifled a laugh and kept on his shit eating grin, which only made Mumbo laugh more. Grian could tell, though, this time, Mumbo was laughing for real.

“It feels like we wouldn’t be alone though, right? If we were both invited to the same world, that is. It would mean other people MUST be here, probably in similar situations to us, if we are where we are,” Grian quipped. “Come on Sherlock, I’ll be your Watson.”

Mumbo’s face flushed at the comment, and he laughed nervously. “M-my Watson?” 

“Well yeah, you can’t have one without the other, can you? But if you’d prefer, I can stuff you back in that locker right now and leave ya.” He was obviously joking, but he saw the hesitance on Mumbo’s face. Maybe that was too far.

“Not sure if I deserve the title of Holmes himself, but...I’ll take your word for it.”

Grian pouted slightly. “Come on, bruh. You gotta work on your confidence then, because if you were scouted for the same reason I was, they weren’t just scouting anyone- you obviously have something that makes you special.”

“Even if you say that, I’m not sure if there’s really anything that makes me special, I’m…” Mumbo trailed off as he heard the loud, room shaking echo of a speaker being paged. Both men jumped in surprise at the sound.

Suddenly, a muffled, unrecognizable voice came over the intercom, loud and full of static. “** _All hermits are to report to the central building at once, or else.”_ **

Just as suddenly as the voice had appeared, it disappeared, leaving Grian with no questions answered and yet again so many more that need answered.

“...Hermits, huh?” Mumbo questioned under his breath, which had grown heavier from the surprise intercom call.

“The only Hermit I can think of is that one guy from that one anime I watched when I was younger. I think his name was Master Roshi? Something like that. He was super cool and powerful but such a perv.”

“Hm, what a tosser.”

Grian was surprised to hear something like that come from Mumbo, who seemed the absolute image of prim and proper, but nevertheless, it was hilarious and totally in character for Mumbo to swear without actually saying the swear words. ...Grian wondered how he knew that. He just shrugged it off.

Grian lightly grabbed one of Mumbo’s hands and ushered him forward, breaking the Brit out of his concentrated state. Mumbo let out a soft “ah,” as he was dragged, but showed no hesitance as he followed behind Grian.

“What do you think will be there when we arrive? The voice said something about hermits. Are we hermits too? I wonder if they really are the people invited alongside us.”

“I’m sure they are,” Grian spoke with a confidence he wasn’t sure he had. “I’m sure everything will be fine.

He was feigning confidence he didn’t really have, but if Mumbo believed it, maybe others would too.

* * *

  
**7:54 AM**

**???**

**Central Building**

It took a few minutes of nonstop walking, but eventually, Grian found what he could only guess was the central building- a large, open white concrete area, complete with a fountain and glass cases filled with armor stands as far as he could see above him- everything was at such a massive scale, it was almost hard to guess that they were in the new world they were invited to. ...If they were, that is.

Standing before the pair, there seemed to be a handful of other people, of different age, height, weight, and gender, all spaced out from each other.

“I think that’s about it,” a posh sounding British voice said from next to the fountain, where the group was mostly located. “16 seems like a good number, don’t you think?”

“It’s convenient, but how can you be sure they’re the last ones to come in?” another voice with a British accent spoke, this time a female. Grian looked her over- she was blonde, with goggles rested atop her head. She seemed taller than Grian, though it was hard to tell from the distance- regardless, Grian wasn’t sure what to think of a girl being taller than him.

“Call it a feeling,” he said in a nonchalant manner. It was hard to get a read on the guy- he wore a grey helmet over his head, the visor covering his face tinted with blue glass. Around his mouth was a respirator looking device, and one that seemed functional from the oxygen filter around the man’s waste.

A man with dark skin and a long, brunette ponytail grinned at the blonde British girl. “Pretty and smart too, it seems” he said, with a confidence Grian was surprised that anyone would have- and he was the master of faking confidence! The blonde gave him an angry look before turning her back to him.

“So counting these two, that makes 16. That seems like a weird number, if you ask me,” a thick, heavy Swedish accent responded from a little across the way, standing next to a large potted plant. When the attention was brought to him, he grinned back- Grian noticed he had a fake eye. He would have to ask later how the Swede got it. He also wondered if he spoke Swedish- that would sound funny.

“So…sorry we were late,” Mumbo said from behind Grian. “We woke up inside lockers in this strange. Large white room.”

“Whoa, you guys too?” a thin man holding a cat asked from beside the oxygen masked man. Grian wondered how the hell he managed to bring a cat with him…..He wondered if the cat was fluffy.

“I woke up in a large room with a map table and some flags- looks like I got the more comfortable deal out of everyone,” a plain looking young man with brunette and a black t-shirt spoke. He stood next to a spiky haired, blonde, thickly built man with a dark military jacket and….deep, almost unreal red scleras. He looked like he was dressed in a costume! Though Grian knew he wasn’t- although it was rare, there were other creatures that dwelled out there than just humans. He was fortunate (unfortunate?) to be a normal human, but his best friend growing up was a mimic, of sorts- he only pretended to be human, but he was still a person to Grian.

Regardless, he still found himself freaked out by this demon-looking blonde. Though, he noted...the plain brunette already seemed to be friends with him. Maybe he wasn’t as bad as he originally thought.

Grian took note of the rest of the people standing in the room- there were, indeed, 16 of them. Most of them, on the outside at least, seemed to be plain humans. But Grian also noticed a few individuals that shared the blonde’s monster qualities- a blue slime dressed in a simple white hoodie, a young ginger woman with dead looking skin (undoubtedly a zombie), and a creeper with prosthetic limbs.

He looked completely plain and uninteresting to the rest of them- except to the brunette from earlier. Everyone had something unique about them, from either their physical appearance or their general dress up. Grian was in nothing but a red shirt and black jeans, and he had messy sandy hair. He didn’t stick out at all. He wasn’t sure if anyone really noticed him.

“I think, before whoever called us here arrives, we should try to make each other’s acquaintances,” a young man with dark skin, dark hair, and a blue shirt spoke, calmly and with a crisp timbre. “The best way to look back at life fondly is to meet it - and those along your journey - warmly, kindly and mindfully.”

He didn’t notice it upon first glance, but the man speaking before them was in fact, an android. He wasn’t human.

“I’ll start,” the android spoke again, with the same air of clarity. His voice was so inhuman, but so...real, all at the same time. He even feigned an _accent_. “My name is Joe Hills, but you can simply call me Joe.”

“Xisuma,” the masked man from before spoke simply, nothing left to be said. It seemed so in character.

“I’m False Symmetry, but you can just call me False,” the blonde Brit from before spoke. She had an air of aggression around her. Grian knew, right away, she wasn’t here to really make friends.

“Well, my dear Falsie~” the pony tailed man from before sang, taking a step towards False and attempting to throw his arm around her in a friendly manner, only to have her side step and his face to contact the ground. After seeing him in action, Grian figured maybe he was just touchy feely, like most foreigners- he didn’t seem to have an accent, but his demeanor seemed...different from the normal creep. He chuckled and sat up from the floor, rubbing his impacted cheek and flashing everyone a grin. “My name is Ren Diggity Dog- but of course, you can just call me Ren.”

“Hi!!!” a young woman with a pink cardigan and a short blue skirt sang, also taking a step towards False, who seemed to receive her affection this time. “The name is Stress Monster- but don’t let the name confuse ya, luv, I’m one hundred percent human!” 

False flashed the woman with a genuine smile, and let Stress grab her hands and swung her around. False had a soft spot for the other woman, it seemed.

The large Swedish man from earlier let out a loud, hearty laugh, holding his hands over his stomach as he did so. “Haha! That’s wonderful- making friends already. The name is Iskall, try not to be too intimidated! I promise I don’t bite.” He flashed a large smile at Grian, who responded by smiling hesitantly.

“The names Impulse,” the other plain looking young man said. His introduction was almost overshadowed by the tall blonde next to him, who smiled and said, “Tango Tek. Call me Tango.”

The blue slime from earlier was the next to speak. He crossed his arms, and gave a smile (Grian thinks it was a smile, at least). “Jevin’s the name, don’t wear it out.” _ Okay dad _, Grian smirked. But Grian had to admit- being a slime would be really cool. He wondered if Jevin could stink things in his body mass and keep them there for later. That would be really convenient- he also wondered if and how did Jevin eat food? Did he have to allow things to pass through or did they automatically? If so how did he hold objects??? Or wear clothes?????????? Grian’s mind was running a mile a minute, trying to figure out how his new blue comrade worked….

Mumbo cleared his throat nervously and and tapped Grian on the shoulder, knocking him out of his mental ramble. Or at least...what he thought was his mental ramble. Apparently he had been murmuring all this to himself, with Jevin’s attention as well.

It was decided. Grian was going to drown himself in the fountain right then.

Jevin gave him a weak, nervous smile and shook his hands in front of his face. “We’ll talk about it later, man, it’s….cool you’re curious, I guess.”

Yep. He was going to fill his lungs with water. He hoped it was salt water and would burn.

“Th...The name is Mumbo,” Mumbo said from behind Grian. He seemed nervous, for some reason, Grian wasn’t sure why. The atmosphere had calmed down a lot since they arrived. But it seemed, no matter what, Mumbo couldn’t calm his nerves. Grian gave him a gentle shoulder pat, hoping to comfort the tall Brit, but it only seemed to spook him as he was lost in thought. “Ah-ah, right. Well. Sorry, I was just thinking, is all. On where the person that called us here is. It doesn’t seem to be one of us- so that means someone else hasn’t arrived yet, I guess? Should we wait on introductions until they arrive, or?”

“Huh now that I think of it. It's kind of strange no one has shown up yet. We were suppose to be here. Are they just letting us have a chance to meet one another first? Either way it's kind of odd, don’t you think?” the young man holding the cat spoke. The cat, a white and gray short haired tabby with a smashed face, was softly asleep in his arms. She seemed contempt, and gentle, and just…_ so soft. Grian wanted to pet her so badly. _Maybe he would. Yeah, he would pet the cat. Someday.

“And don’t you think it’s strange that this place has no windows, and no entrances or exits to be seen? And random sections seem to be bolted with iron bars...” the man standing next to the cat man said. He was bald, with a gray beard and a lab coat- it seemed like a weird ensemble, but not plain, at the very least. Grian felt a little self conscious again.

"Yeah… this is like seriously weirding me out. Not to sound like that little sociopath, but maybe we really were kidnapped?" Stress suggested.with fear in her voice as she looked around. False put her arm around Stress and rubbed the opposite shoulder. It seemed like they really were friends, or at least something of the sort.

“I am certain they will take down the iron bars after we find out who summoned us here,” Joe said, trying to stay optimistic. As much as an android can try anyway. Grian would have to interrogate him later to see how human he could pass as. “If you can look into the seeds of time, and say which grain will grow and which will not, speak then unto me.”

Oh great, he was a poet. Shakespeare.

Oh great, Grian knew that was from Shakespeare.

However, before any of them could say anything else, they were interrupted by a high pitched screech coming over the intercom system again. Everyone in the room immediately put their hands over their ears, trying to block out the sound, except for the cat guy, who was trying his best to cover his cat’s ears from the loud sound.

**“Thank you for joining us, Hermits.” **A loud voice called over the intercom, in the midst of the loud screech. 

Ren, who still had his hands clasped over his...head? yelled into the busy noise first. “Hey man! Not cool, turn that down before our ears are all bleedin’!!!”

Finally, with his demand, the intercom stopped screeching, and a cool silence fell over them. They all sighed in relief that their hearing was safe, except for the cat guy who seemed to be completely shaking, and _ very _ pale. “Scar?” the older man next to him asked, gently placing his hands on each shoulder of the younger male. The cat man, who Grian now knew as Scar, seemed to not be doing so well after protecting his cat over his own hearing- it had been that loud. 

“Cub? I don’t feel that great,” Scar said softly, but just loud enough that everyone could hear him faintly. Cub gently helped Scar sit down on the ground, and he seemed to immediately conk out. 

What was going on? Grian was starting to get....really scared.

The voice returned again, this time, without the screeching noise from before. It spoke one single sentence. A sentence that Grian could have never imagined to ever hear. A sentence so vile, with so much weight that he couldn’t even begin to fathom what he had done to end up in this situation.

**“Welcome, Hermits, to the sixth annual killing game.”**


End file.
